Frequently Asked Questions
We hope that you find the following information useful, if you have additional or specific questions please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Thanks!
Proposals
How do I submit a proposal?
What is the next step in the proposal process?
When will I be notified if my proposal was accepted?
Papers
My proposal was accepted. What now?
What might my paper cover?
Are there any length/format requirements for my paper?
When is my paper due?
Presentations
What is the format for each session?
What equipment is available for my presentation?
What should I prepare to hand out at my presentation?
How should I prepare for my presentation?
Feedback
What is a discussant and what does a discussant do?
What type of feedback will I receive?
Marketplace of Ideas
What is the format for Marketplace of Ideas?
What equipment is available for the Marketplace of Ideas?
How should I prepare for my demonstration or poster fair session?
What should I bring to the conference to support my presentation?
Miscellaneous
How do I create an effective Power Point presentation?
Where do I go if I still have questions?
Proposals
How do I submit a proposal?
Updated information specific to ESRI 2012 is available online. Proposals are due to the ESRI Leadership Team no later than 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 8, 2011.
What is the next step in the proposal process?
After November 8, the ESRI Leadership Team will remove all identifiers from your proposal and submit it to a panel for peer review. Your proposal will be reviewed by at least three individuals. Final decisions on which proposals will be selected for presentation at ESRI will be made early in December, with notification and individual feedback provided to you by December 19, 2011.
When will I be notified if my proposal was accepted?
The panel will review your proposal and notify you of your paper status by December 19, 2011. The ESRI Leadership Team will send notification to the address provided on the proposal submission.
Papers
My proposal was accepted. What now?
Congratulations! The next step is to now write the paper and conduct any research that still needs to be conducted. If you based your proposal off of a course paper, you will want to revise that paper for a discussant to read and critique at the conference. If this is a new project, you will want to conduct your research and write a paper roughly along the guidelines of the proposal format for anticipated sections. Please remember to use proper APA citations in all work submitted for presentation at ESRI.
What might my paper cover?
First, bear in mind that this paper is not simply an excerpt from a course paper or your dissertation. Do not send your literature review, your methodology chapter, or your findings chapter from your dissertation or parts of other research projects. If you are presenting a paper that comes from your dissertation, then you need to shape the appropriate material into a paper format.
One recommendation would be to organize your paper following the list of topics in the call for proposals. By going through the topics you briefly mentioned in your proposal, you are likely to cover all relevant portions of what is needed in a paper for an academic conference.
Are there any length/format requirements for my paper?
Papers should be between 10–25 pages in length, double-spaced, with proper APA style. Your page total should include the cover page, abstract, reference list, and appendices. For the benefit of our discussants, please do not submit papers over 25 pages long.
When is my paper due?
Papers should be turned in by February 6, 2012.
Presentations
What is the format for each session?
Scholarly paper sessions (research findings, research design proposal, literature review, policy analysis, etc.) will be 45 minutes in length and will feature two student presentations per session. The Chair will use 5 minutes to introduce the session and presenters. Students will speak in the order listed in the conference program and will be given 10 minutes each to present. The discussants will then comment on the presentations based on the papers submitted by the students (15 minutes total). The remaining time will be available for audience questions. The Chair will monitor time usage.
Symposia will also be 45 minutes in length. The symposia proposal specified how many students were to present in the session. A session chair will use 5 minutes to introduce the session and presenters. For the next 20 minutes the presenters will follow a schedule they have organized to serve the purpose of their proposal. There will then be 15 minutes of commentary from the discussants based on the materials submitted by students. Any remaining time will be available for audience questions. The Chair will monitor time usage.
What equipment is available for my presentation?
A digital or LCD projector and screen will be provided for use during your presentation. Please note, you will need to bring your own computer. However, the LCD projector will not work with MAC computers. Presenters are strongly encouraged to coordinate with each other to share laptops for use during the presentation. Once a draft program is available it is suggested that you contact the individual(s) presenting in your time slot and make arrangements to share computers if possible. The Marvin Center requires that you bring the proper connection cord to hook up a MAC laptop to their LCD projectors.
What should I prepare to hand out at my presentation?
If you choose to use PowerPoint for your presentation, make sure to format slides such that there is an appropriate amount of information on each slide. Remember to use larger fonts so audience members in the back of the room may see your presentation. You may also want to prepare handouts for the audience to follow along and take notes. Average audience sizes tend to be between 20–30 individuals.
How should I prepare for my presentation?
It is important to practice your presentation in advance. This will make you more confident with the material and make sure you abide by time limits. Please make sure that your presentation abides within a 10-minute time frame. Due to the number of presentations that take place that day, you may be cut off at the 10 minute mark to ensure that all presenters have an opportunity to speak. You will be notified at the 2-minute and 1-minute mark so that you can wrap up your presentation. Symposia presenters will need to work out their own division of time per speaker. The session Chair will serve as timekeeper and will give 2-minute and 1-minute warnings as well. For guidelines on creating quality Power Point presentations, see the miscellaneous section.
Feedback
What is a discussant and what does a discussant do?
A major objective of this conference is to provide students with the opportunity to receive feedback on their work. To this end, a faculty member, content expert, or doctoral program alumnus will be assigned to each scholarly paper and symposia session to provide feedback to the participants.
What type of feedback will I receive?
The type of feedback you will receive will depend on a number of factors, including timing, length, and style of the discussant. We ask that you submit papers no later than February 6, 2012 to give your discussant ample time to prepare a response and provide feedback.
Discussants may give feedback in a variety of formats, depending on their personal style. Some may prepare a memorandum summarizing their thoughts and reactions to your paper. Others may have notes for what they plan to say at the session and provide a copy to you. Some discussants will respond to each paper individually, while others will weave together each presentation’s similarities and differences into a “teachable moment” on various aspects presented. Since discussant styles vary greatly, it is important to jot some notes down regarding what they say in addition to any comments you receive on your paper from peers in attendance.
Marketplace of Ideas
What is the format for Marketplace of Ideas?
ESRI will provide you an easel and table for displaying materials. The easel (as used to hold a tablet of flip chart paper) will have a surface space about 3’ high and 2’ wide. You may tape materials to the easel directly. You may also wish to invest in a tri-fold presentation board (such as those used for science fair presentations). Please note that ESRI is not able to provide digital or LCD projectors or laptops for use during the Marketplace of Ideas. Presenters wishing to use a laptop or LCD projector will need to provide their own, or request one by emailing the ESRI Student Chair, Markesha McWilliams, at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
. Requests will be filled on a first come first served basis. If you plan on using your own equipment, please notify the ESRI Leadership Team at least a week prior to the conference. The Marvin Center requires that you bring the proper connection cord to hook up a MAC laptop to their LCD projectors.
What equipment is available for the Marketplace of Ideas?
ESRI will provide you an easel and table for displaying materials. The easel (as used to hold a tablet of flip chart paper) will have a surface space about 3’ high and 2’ wide. You may tape materials to the easel directly. You may also wish to invest in a tri-fold presentation board (such as those used for science fair presentations). Please note that ESRI is not able to provide digital or LCD projectors or laptops for use during the Marketplace of Ideas. Presenters wishing to use a laptop or LCD projector will need to provide their own, or request one by emailing the ESRI Student Chair, Markesha McWilliams, at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
. Requests will be filled on a first come first served basis. If you plan on using your own equipment, please notify the ESRI Leadership Team at least a week prior to the conference. The Marvin Center requires that you bring the proper connection cord to hook up a MAC laptop to their LCD projectors.
How should I prepare for my demonstration or poster fair session?
Although these presentations are informal, you should prepare a 3-5 minute overview of the project and be prepared to answer questions.
What should I bring to the conference to support my presentation?
You should bring any display materials that you plan to use during your demonstration. In addition to your basic presentation information, you should prepare a one page handout for visitors who stop by your presentation for discussion (20-30 copies should be enough, but it is always better to overestimate than underestimate). While you do not need to prepare full copies of any papers on which your presentation is based, you may want to bring business cards for anyone that would be interested in learning more about your research or continuing the discussion further.
Miscellaneous
How do I create an effective Power Point presentation?
Efficiency is the goal of any Power Point presentation. Do not inundate your readers with too much information in the slide as that will make them uninterested and unable to read the slide. You can always expand on what is on the slide during your actual presentation.
Some other quick tips include:
- Use Power Point design templates
- Include only necessary, essential information
- Avoid dark background colors, since the room may be darkened. The best contrasts may be a light background with dark text to maximize its contrast.
- Be consistent with any effects, transitions, and animation.
- Use animation sparingly, as it can distract from the presentation.
- Use figures and tables sparingly. Most present information that is too small for readers to see which makes these poor communicators of your points.
- Too many slides can bore your audience and they will stop paying attention. For ESRI presentations, try not to include more than 12 slides.
- Use large font (sizes 20 through 48) as an audience may be sitting at a long distance away and unable to read smaller font.
- Put your name and presentation title on the first slide.
- Be sparing with your text. A slide overloaded with text will quickly be ignored by the audience.
Where do I go if I still have questions?
If you still have questions regarding any element of ESRI, please email the ESRI Leadership Team at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
. In addition, you may find it useful to talk with professors and peers who have attended academic conferences to glean useful information from their experiences.
